Wikispaces classroom – simple, social, student engagement

Many teachers approach social media tentatively when it is presented as a classroom resource. The prospect of students contacting you on your personal profile, the lack of control and moderation of messages and issues of online (cyber) bullying are reason enough. But while we ourselves share these concerns and have posted articles helping teachers to use social media safely in the classroom, our attention was drawn to altogether different social media networking space that some of you may already be using to great effect.

Launched in 2005, the social writing workspace Wikispaces Classroom is an online platform developed solely for the education sector that is gaining more and more support from teaching professionals throughout the world, with more than 14 million individual users.

Taking teaching tips from Sir Alex

In the ruthless world of Premier League football, many managers find their experiences of top flight football to be precariously short.

That fact alone would make Sir Alex Ferguson’s quarter-century an extraordinary feat but, after announcing his retirement on Wednesday evening (9th May), many pundits and sports commentators have hailed his decision as marking the end of an era.

Ferguson’s longevity is far from the most compelling reason for this. Within his 27-year stint as manager of one of the most successful clubs in world football, he led his team to 13 major titles and was the first manager to win the treble in the 1988−89 season.

Shortly after the heroics of the Champions League final – which saw Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Teddy Sherringham pull back a 1−0 deficit against Bayern Munich in injury time, Sir Alex Ferguson became only the eighth manager to be knighted for his services to football.

Today, Manchester United is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported clubs in the world.

Commenting this week, Prime Minister David Cameron hailed Sir Alex as ‘a remarkable man in British football who has had an extraordinary, successful career.’

At the end of a reign so sustained and successful it is easy to forget how hard-fought the initial victories were and how unlikely their domination that followed was.

Outlasting prime ministers, archbishops and even popes, Ferguson turned the fortunes of a side that hadn’t won a league title in the two decades prior to his appointment.  But what can we learn from his charisma, drive and zeal as a manager, or more so as a leader and trainer?

While many first consider the lessons to be learned from a business sense, there are also tips that we as educators can draw from Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.

Does performance-related pay equal better teachers?

How opinions are split over the new pay structures set for September 2013

From September 2013, head teachers across England will have the power to give their staff a pay rise according to their perceived performance against targets.

Offering children the best education possible is what teachers, parents and the Government all want but will performance based pay incentives mean a higher standard of teaching?

Some academy schools in England already have the power to pay according to performance. Proponents of the new scheme suggest that it should be the case that teachers are rewarded for their effort and achievements even if this does mean that not all will see their pay rise year-on-year.

Does education hold the key as the world catches up?

Competitivity and the new challenges technology poses

In this country we enjoy a very privileged life style. It may not always feel like it, if you are crammed in a hot, crowded underground train or trying to get a plumber to fix a central heating boiler during the cold snap. However, these examples show how much we take for granted in modern life – indeed it is hard to think what life would be like without such facilities! We live in the developed world, but the majority of the population comprise the developing world. They are playing catch up and they are playing it for real.

I’m a teacher, should I write a blog?

For any individual whether you’re an educator, academic, professional or student  ̶  writing your own blog may have been something you’ve considered at one point or another. Regardless of your background or expertise there is one principal question to ask yourself before you start and that is; Why? why should I invest in creating and maintaining my own blog?

For many who have expertise in a certain subject or specialism, a blog can be a powerful platform to share and discuss topics, ideas or to offer an alternative standpoint on an area of interest. For others writing a blog can offer commercial or financial value, building an individual’s online profile or supporting the SEO strategy for a particular business or website.

As well as ensuring your reasons behind starting your blog are convincing and worthwhile, there are some other considerations that you should be aware before launching your own blog site.

How to find the perfect tutor

Tutoring can be an effective way for parents to support their child’s learning development. Traditionally the term tutor suggests a teacher offering one-to-one support, however there are a wide range of other and often more cost-effective forms of tutoring available.

In recent years online tutoring services have become increasingly popular, enabling students to learn, revise and test themselves according to their classroom syllabi’s. Whether on their desktop, tablet or smart phone device these e-learning resources can encourage students to study for longer and more sporadically.

Other alternatives include independent tutoring services that cover core subjects in group formats or larger often franchise-based learning centre’s that offer large classroom based learning sessions.

Pearson invests in Barnes & Noble’s e-book

Pearson UK is one of the largest multinational publishing and education companies in the world so when the news hit that they would be investing in an e-reader, debate quickly unfolded.

Pearson has announced that they will invest $89.5 million (£55 million) in return for a 5 per cent share in Nook Media LLC. The move means Pearson will now have a financial stake in Nook Media’s subsidiary parts that include its e-reader and tablet, its online bookstore and the Nook retail stores based in over 650 US college campuses.

Does this spell the end of traditional print textbooks?

Ever considered using your iPad in class?

Found yourself on the nice list this year? Finally got that iPad that you’ve wanted for a while now?

You don’t need us to describe the excitement − if you’re anything like me then you would’ve spent most of Christmas Day loading all of those games and goodies you’ve had your eye on.

After playing around with it for hours I began to consider the ways that the iPad could help me in my lessons.

I’m an English teacher at an academy school in London and although my students show great enthusiasm in my class, their attention does waiver. Unfortunately, the current batch of school iPad resources are restricted to the ICT suites, but what if they weren’t, how would I use the iPad for teaching and learning…?

How can social media be used in the classroom?

Social media can be a daunting prospect but it doesn’t have to be. In this article we offer a good-practice guide to managing your school Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts.

The use of new communicative technologies remains a topic of wide debate with both arguments for and against.

Surface vs iPad – Can Microsoft offer schools more choice?

Apple had a big head start in the tablet market, but early this year Microsoft revealed its own strategy for taking on the iPad: the latest version of its Windows operating system, Windows 8, allows for a new breed of hybrid tablet PCs – part tablet computer, part laptop.

Inspired by Apple’s touch-based iOS system, Windows 8, which launched this autumn – is radically different from its predecessors. The system doesn’t even have Microsoft’s iconic ‘start’ menu. Instead, all applications are spread across a tiled dashboard, resembling road signs that can be navigated with a swipe of the finger on the display screen or with a keyboard and an in-built mouse pad. The tiles also provide a glimpse at the activity occurring in applications connected to the web, such as email.

Ensure digital technology meets the needs of students, today and tomorrow

‘Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time’
                                                                                                                      Hebrew Proverb

Innovation in technology – from smartphones and smart TVs to tablets and even Leap pads for primary school students – has propelled our children into a digital age. A time where the average teen sends 60 texts a day, where they check and update their social statuses daily and where the average student spends from 6.5 to 10 hours a day consuming media, most of which is in a multi-activity environment. Young learners are experiencing new advances, opportunities, pressures and challenges far different from that of their parents, teachers, head teachers and school board members.

Students study for longer and more efficiently with smartphones

Motivate your learners: download for FREE

The mobile movement is a global phenomenon with smartphone and tablet adoption increasing worldwide. Smartphones are becoming indispensable to our daily lives and transforming the way we do things.

The adoption of smartphones has given rise to a massive shift in consumer behaviour – new data from StudyBlue® suggests that education is no exception.

Based on data of nearly one million students (conducted in 2011), those that use Android or iPhone learning apps spend an additional 40 minutes studying per week compared to those that use online-only platforms. Mobile learning apps such as LearnersCloud’s GCSE eLearning resources turn normally unproductive time into opportunities for study.

Top Tech Trends in 2013: Tablets in Education SPECIAL

Tech trends in 2013: Tablets in Education

We’d love to reveal new exclusives on revolutionary advances in educational technology but tech developments are evolutionary. Sustainability is essential and, although tame in their appearance, some exciting announcements head up next year’s trends: 

Is it any wonder GCSE students have low motivation?

Is it any wonder GCSE students have low motivation?

While the argument over GCSEs vs O-Levels rages, the debate seems to have passed by the only ones who will be directly affected by the exams.

GCSEs in the UK are hugely important to a student’s future, having a solid set of A*–C grades can often make the difference in job applications and apprenticeship take-up as well as enrolling on further and higher education courses.

Yet, as the scrutiny over the credibility of GCSEs rolls on, is it any wonder why learners are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the education system?